Theses built on monetizing hidden real estate, common with department stores like Macy's or Sears, often fail. The core operating business is frequently a 'negative EV' enterprise that destroys value faster than the underlying assets can be monetized, turning the investment into a trap.

A simple cap rate analysis for REITs is misleading. A true total return calculation must add 2-3% for rent growth and factor in the amplifying effect of leverage, which can turn a perceived 6% yield into a 10%+ long-term return.

The market capitalization of the world's largest companies is overwhelmingly derived from non-physical assets like brand, intellectual property, and customer goodwill. Selling all of Coca-Cola's factories would yield far less value than retaining ownership of the name alone, proving that intangible meaning is the primary driver of modern enterprise value.

Traditional valuation metrics ignore the most critical drivers of success: leadership, brand, and culture. These unquantifiable assets are not on the balance sheet, causing the best companies to appear perpetually overvalued to conventional analysts. This perceived mispricing creates the investment opportunity.

Intrinsic value shouldn't be confused with a 12-month price target. It is a calculation of a company's long-term worth, akin to a private market or takeover value. This stable anchor allows investors to assess the "margin of safety" at any given market price and ignore daily noise, rather than chasing a specific trading level.

Canadian retailer Leon's Furniture holds a valuable real estate portfolio, including prime development land, on its books for a fraction of its market value. A plan to IPO this real estate into a REIT creates a clear catalyst to unlock this hidden value, a common playbook for scaled Canadian retailers.

Alexander's primary asset, the Bloomberg Tower, has a lease until 2040 with significant built-in rent bumps. The rent will step up from ~$79M to $88M in 2028. By 2030, a reset guarantees a minimum rent of $85.7M but could go as high as $104M depending on market rates, providing a powerful, contractual growth driver.

Madison Square Garden's physical location above Penn Station gives its parent company a de facto veto over a $7.5 billion public renovation. This strategic position makes the property far more valuable than its standalone operations, as its consent is the key that unlocks a massive development project.

The valuation gap between public and private real estate is historically wide. Sunbelt apartment REITs trade at implied cap rates of 6.5-7%, while similar private assets trade near 5-5.25%. This disconnect presents a compelling opportunity for public market investors to acquire quality assets at a significant discount.